Looking for build advice

[ninjaculate]

Hey guys, I'm looking to build a gaming PC. I would appreciate a build list with the criteria provided ... I will say that I am new to this so I would really appreciate you leave no stone left unturned. Do I need to buy things for assembly, paste, etc?

I really want to be able to run the newest games. I also plan on streaming some games, but the games I'll be streaming (as in my playing and streaming to an audience) will be less intensive and not most of the big games and stuff. One important thing for me is that I need to be able to max out a moddem Skyrim game. I absolutely have to.

If you can also recommend video cards, cpus, etc to watch out for for good Black Friday sales as well, that would be nice.

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month

Budget: 600-1000, preferably on the lower end of that.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: No. I was going to get the standard 1080p 23'' Asus monitor.


Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon, Prime Eligible if possible. I am OK with Newegg.

Location: Turlock, CA, USA

Parts Preferences: Whichever are most supported. I don't want a project to get things running

Overclocking: Not on my first build

SLI or Crossfire: Don't know what this is so no

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Additional Comments: Have 8GB of Corsair RAM I bought a year ago when I thought I was building a PC. A plain case is fine with me, I just want it to be easy and I want it to be cool. I need cooling/fans explained to me from case/CPU perspective, please.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My laptop has a cheap graphics card (discreet) and runs a lot of Steam games, but I can't play Skyrim or any of "those" games.

 

[mcdonh]

don't have time to actually do this sorry but use this site; PC Part Picker

edit: if you want to save yourself some time there are some nice pre-builts here: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

 

[Guest]

I was in the same boat as you regarding the steam games on a laptop.
SLI/Crossfire means multiple graphics cards.
Same budget too! So I'll just go ahead and give you my build (swapped a few parts based on your preferences).
I ordered all my parts from Amazon, so this should be fun.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.89 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $832.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-17 02:18 EST-0500)

Compared to my build, I replaced my 8320 with an 8350 because I overclocked my 8320 to the speeds of the 8350 for $40 less.
Since you're not overclocking, I changed that to the 8350.
The M5A97 R2.0 mobo is one of the best mobos in that budget range.
You already have the memory.
You can add an SSD if you want for faster boot times/install OS on.
I personally got one to install my OS/main programs and I love the <10 second boot up speed. I run a hybrid SSD/HDD setup so I put the rest of my files (pictures, music, videos, etc) on my HDD. It's up to you whether or not you want to spend that extra $100. If not, that WD HDD will do just fine and everything you want it to do.
Instead of my 7950, I changed it to the R9 280X. VERY good graphics card, you'll basically run nearly any game right now at Ultra at 60ish fps (going to drop a bit if you're streaming, but it won't make a big difference)
It's a rebranded 7970.
Same case as mine, except for some reason the black is $20 more now so I hope you don't mind the white.
Great power supply from a reliable brand.
Cheap optical drive, does everything you want (except blu-ray obviously).

Do you have only one stick of ram or 2x4gb ram? Two sticks is better, as you can run dual channel which is a lot more efficient.
Cooling obviously circulates air out of your case. The case I suggested already comes with two fans in it.
If you want a quiet cpu cooler (preferred over the stock), you can buy the Cooler Master Hyper Evo 212 for $30. It'll cool your cpu a lot better, is a lot more quieter, and you can do minor overclocking!

If you want to max out your budget or go lower, let me know. But everybody wants to save money, and this build will do everything you want!

 

[ninjaculate]

Does the CPU come with a cooler on it? If I buy the other cooler, how uh .. difficult is it to replace the one that comes with the CPU? What's the deal with thermal paste?

That case has two fans for sure? It says an "additional" top fan but doesn't talk about the one I don't think. Thanks for the advice

 

[Guest]

Does the CPU come with a cooler on it? If I buy the other cooler, how uh .. difficult is it to replace the one that comes with the CPU? What's the deal with thermal paste?

That case has two fans for sure? It says an "additional" top fan but doesn't talk about the one I don't think. Thanks for the advice

The CPU comes with the stock cpu cooler in the same box. It also comes with thermal paste but if you'd rather buy a separate thermal paste, you're free to do so (only $5).

Not sure about the difficulty, I bought the 212 Evo and didn't even bother using the stock one.
I've taken it off and on though and it wasn't that hard. I'd honestly just get the 212 Evo and use that instead of the stock one because when under a lot of stress it will be extremely noisy.

The case has one fan, hence the 'additional' top fan (the case is the Elite version, so it comes with that additional top fan along with USB 3.0).
If you go to my build and look at the picture of the inside of my case, you'll see it: http://pcpartpicker.com/b/HKB

 

[ninjaculate]

Thanks much. Is there any advantages that CPU has over an Intel one? I'm new at this, I just always figured they would be superior?

 

[Krazeee]

If your picking up a R9 280x, Make sure to compare lowest prices.

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GDDR5-3GB-2xMini-Graphics-GV-R928XOC-3GD/dp/B00FONITA6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384673597&sr=8-1&keywords=r9+280x

You could also pickup a R9 290 with free Battlefield 4 if you want.

 

[Krazeee]

Thanks much. Is there any advantages that CPU has over an Intel one? I'm new at this, I just always figured they would be superior?

You won't notice any differences so no worries. But yes an i5-4670k will perform better than an 8320... But doesn't matter and you should save $40 and go for the 8320 not 8350...

 

[Guest]

Thanks much. Is there any advantages that CPU has over an Intel one? I'm new at this, I just always figured they would be superior?

Not necessarily, the intel may handle gaming a little better but they're also a lot more expensive.
At this price range/budget, an AMD cpu is excellent.

 

[Krazeee]

Thanks much. Is there any advantages that CPU has over an Intel one? I'm new at this, I just always figured they would be superior?

Not necessarily, the intel may handle gaming a little better but they're also a lot more expensive.
At this price range/budget, an AMD cpu is excellent.

If he decides to add a second video card, the AMD card will bottleneck a lot while the Intel will manage. That's the only difference

 

[Guest]

Thanks much. Is there any advantages that CPU has over an Intel one? I'm new at this, I just always figured they would be superior?

Not necessarily, the intel may handle gaming a little better but they're also a lot more expensive.
At this price range/budget, an AMD cpu is excellent.

If he decides to add a second video card, the AMD card will bottleneck a lot while the Intel will manage. That's the only difference

The M5A97 isn't necessarily ideal for crossfire anyway

 

[ninjaculate]

What's the price of a comparable Intel CPU? Just for curiosities sake.

 

[Krazeee]

^ Good point dopey... Lol

and Intel CPU's run ~$230 and AMD's run ~$150-$180

Get the 8320... no difference.

 

[Guest]

What's the price of a comparable Intel CPU? Just for curiosities sake.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501

Like Krazeee said, if you wanna cut some cash you can go ahead and get the 8320.

 

[Guest]

I'm sorry I made a mistake, the thermal paste actually comes with the CPU cooler (the Evo 212), not the CPU!
Just a clarification.

 

[ninjaculate]

One more batch of questions (hopefully): are there many things I need to watch out for when it comes to compatibility? Or is everything big pretty much standard these days? Like I'm buying things over the next few weeks, but if a CPU of GPU that comes on sale for Cyber Monday or whatever and it looks good, should I just jump on it and buy? I mean, the parts listed look solid and all, but say another CPU with similar specs goes on sale, do I buy? Is there something with the motherboard I need to look for? What about the case?

Thanks for all the help you guys. And is that i7-3770 linked really the comparable CPU to the AMD one?

 

[Guest]

One more batch of questions (hopefully): are there many things I need to watch out for when it comes to compatibility? Or is everything big pretty much standard these days? Like I'm buying things over the next few weeks, but if a CPU of GPU that comes on sale for Cyber Monday or whatever and it looks good, should I just jump on it and buy? I mean, the parts listed look solid and all, but say another CPU with similar specs goes on sale, do I buy? Is there something with the motherboard I need to look for? What about the case?

Thanks for all the help you guys. And is that i7-3770 linked really the comparable CPU to the AMD one?

Just do a simple google search on your parts and that is all. You can just check to see if the motherboard supports the cpu etc. via specifications.
ATX is the standard size for mobos. As long as you have an ATX case, you can guarantee your ATX mobo will fit.

If anything, just shoot me a pm and I can let you know; or just post on this forum ;-)

Black friday/cyber monday doesn't necessarily offer much though. The items you want to go on sale usually never do. It's also been found that companies slowly increase the price of the item during the year and then drop it back down to retail around those days, so you aren't really saving much.
So just a tip, don't rely too much on finding that great of a deal on those two days.

In terms of overall performance, yes. The i-73770 is a bit better though.
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/375/AMD_FX-Series_FX-8350_vs_Intel_Core_i7_i7-3770.html

hint: Don't forget to pick the best answer!